Rugby League in Tameside

[glossop saint]

I went to a museum in Ashton-under-Lyne today. It had a very small section on the sporting prowess of Ashton and Tameside in general. There was a good few footballers, some athletics and a surprising number of swimmers and oddly water polo players. However there was only one 'rugby' player on the list, no mention of union or league.

Given the proximity to Oldham and Saddleworth then has there been any pro clubs or notable players in the area before? I know that Oldham played at Stalybridge for a while due to stadium issues. And I think that a Salford winger(?) lived that way a few years ago (got in some sort of trouble with dangerous dogs or something maybe?).

As an aside but on a similar topic I went to a similar museum in Stockport a few weeks back and they had a similar sporting section and made no mention at all of their, albeit brief, role in the formation of the northern Union. Sad that they have been not only been lost to the sport but seemingly have no knowledge of their history. I did mean to send an email to let them know, maybe during a quiet moment tomorrow I will. 

[Exiled red]

There's no way Ashton has a museum.

At my old school in Stalybridge we played the other stuff as did Audenshaw.

None of the other schools had teams at all.

[Superb Chops]

The Manchester Knights formed in the late-nineties, based initially at the Audenshaw rugby union club.

They were part of the formation for the national summer conference competition, putting a hundred-ish on Wolverhampton in the opening league match and getting full back-page coverage in that week’s Tameside Advertiser newspaper, in part due to the attendance of Iestyn Harris.

The club was overseen by the then Daily Star RL correspondent. With apologies to Peter, I cannot remember his surname due to the passing of time and my failing memory.

From this initial season I left the area - but maybe somebody else could fill in the missing details?

 

[Pie tries]

There was a recent short lived Tameside Knights. Think never made it beyond covid…

[Rowan]

Between 1982 and 1997 Tameside Borough were members of the Pennine League which in those days consisted of six-to-eight divisions of nearly 100 teams. Tameside, who played at Medlock Centre in Droylsden had several successful seasons including four promotions and a Riley Cup win. One player  but in 1997 the club withdrew from the Pennine League and on the advice of Lionel Hurst became Manchester Knights and joined the new summer conference, playing first at Audenshaw, then at Oldham RU, then Dukinfield RU then Ashton on Mersey RU Five nomadic seasons) before falling into oblivion. As Superb Chops mentioned we started with a 96-0 win over Wolverhampton Wizards - a match that featured on Sky's good old Boots N All programme - and like the recent Manchester Rangers had ambitions of bigger things but sadly could not    attract the sort of support or sponsorship needed. 

It was great while it lasted and thanks for remembering me SC , surname's Wilson and I still do a bit covering Barrow Raiders (my home town) for League Express.

[Superb Chops]

13 minutes ago, Rowan said:

Between 1982 and 1997 Tameside Borough were members of the Pennine League which in those days consisted of six-to-eight divisions of nearly 100 teams. Tameside, who played at Medlock Centre in Droylsden had several successful seasons including four promotions and a Riley Cup win. One player  but in 1997 the club withdrew from the Pennine League and on the advice of Lionel Hurst became Manchester Knights and joined the new summer conference, playing first at Audenshaw, then at Oldham RU, then Dukinfield RU then Ashton on Mersey RU Five nomadic seasons) before falling into oblivion. As Superb Chops mentioned we started with a 96-0 win over Wolverhampton Wizards - a match that featured on Sky's good old Boots N All programme - and like the recent Manchester Rangers had ambitions of bigger things but sadly could not    attract the sort of support or sponsorship needed. 

It was great while it lasted and thanks for remembering me SC , surname's Wilson and I still do a bit covering Barrow Raiders (my home town) for League Express.

Peter Wilson, of course. 

For those that haven't had the pleasure, Peter was a warm, welcoming person to the club and generous with his time. 

Glad to hear you are still in the game. All the best sir

[nadera78]

42 minutes ago, Rowan said:

Between 1982 and 1997 Tameside Borough were members of the Pennine League which in those days consisted of six-to-eight divisions of nearly 100 teams. Tameside, who played at Medlock Centre in Droylsden had several successful seasons including four promotions and a Riley Cup win. One player  but in 1997 the club withdrew from the Pennine League and on the advice of Lionel Hurst became Manchester Knights and joined the new summer conference, playing first at Audenshaw, then at Oldham RU, then Dukinfield RU then Ashton on Mersey RU Five nomadic seasons) before falling into oblivion. As Superb Chops mentioned we started with a 96-0 win over Wolverhampton Wizards - a match that featured on Sky's good old Boots N All programme - and like the recent Manchester Rangers had ambitions of bigger things but sadly could not    attract the sort of support or sponsorship needed. 

It was great while it lasted and thanks for remembering me SC , surname's Wilson and I still do a bit covering Barrow Raiders (my home town) for League Express.

I was going to mention Tameside Borough because they were featured in Dave Hadfield's XIII Winters book, which I read many times over when it came out. Being a Londoner, and new to the game, it served as my introduction to some of the teams, towns, players and fans of the game and forged a little connection to them for a youngster in a RL outpost.

[glossop saint]

On 09/12/2023 at 20:53, Exiled red said:

There's no way Ashton has a museum.

At my old school in Stalybridge we played the other stuff as did Audenshaw.

None of the other schools had teams at all.

I know, Ashton is not exactly known as a cultural hotspot! It was the Portland Basin Museum. Maybe not the greatest but free and would recommend for anyone local looking for things to do with kids that's inside. 

[glossop saint]

Thanks for an the responses, very interesting. Such a shame that an area so close to a heartland of the game has next to no RL footprint. Similar in many ways to Bolton and Bury I suppose. Maybe with the takeover of Oldham they might do a bit of development there. Fingers crossed. 

[roughyed8]

3 hours ago, nadera78 said:

I was going to mention Tameside Borough because they were featured in Dave Hadfield's XIII Winters book, which I read many times over when it came out. Being a Londoner, and new to the game, it served as my introduction to some of the teams, towns, players and fans of the game and forged a little connection to them for a youngster in a RL outpost.

Was that the story of the famous 0-0 draw with Fitton Hill ARLFC A team played in monsoon conditions at Droylsden?. It made the daily mirror as an example of true amateur rugby players.

[nadera78]

14 hours ago, roughyed8 said:

Was that the story of the famous 0-0 draw with Fitton Hill ARLFC A team played in monsoon conditions at Droylsden?. It made the daily mirror as an example of true amateur rugby players.

It might have been, it's near enough30 years ago now(!). In my head, that chapter was entitled something along the lines of "The Season of the Win" and included the description "a losing team, not a team of losers" but I may be confusing them with another chapter.

[Usera]

Jack Johnson, who is from Audenshaw, has signed for Oldham.

 

AUDENSHAW’S very own rugby league star Jack Johnson is coming ‘home’ after signing for Oldham RLFC.